Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain (German: die Luftschlacht um England, literally "the air battle for England") was a military campaign of the Second World War, when the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the United Kingdom (UK) against the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attacks from the end of June 1940. It is described as the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise its duration as from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps with the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, while German historians do not accept this subdivision and regard it as a campaign lasting from July 1940 to June 1941. The primary objective of the Nazi German forces was to compel Britain to agree to a negotiated peace settlement. In July 1940, the air and sea blockade began with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal shipping convoys, ports and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth. On 1 August, the Luftwaffe was directed to achieve air superiority over the RAF with the aim of incapacitating RAF Fighter Command; 12 days later, it shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted factories involved in aircraft production and strategic infrastructure and, eventually, it employed terror bombing on areas of political significance and civilians. The Germans had swiftly overwhelmed continental countries, and Britain now appeared to face the same threat of invasion, but the German high command knew the difficulties of an unprecedented seaborne attack, and its impracticality while the Royal Navy commanded the seas. On 16 July Hitler ordered the preparation of Operation Sea Lion as a potential amphibious and airborne assault on Britain, to follow once the Luftwaffe had air superiority over the UK. In September German preparation of converted barges was disrupted by RAF Bomber Command night raids, and the Luftwaffe failure to overwhelm the RAF forced Hitler to postpone and eventually cancel Operation Sea Lion. Nazi Germany was unable to sustain daylight raids, but their continued night bombing operations on Britain became known as the Blitz. The failure to destroy Britain's air defences to force an armistice (or even outright surrender) is considered by Steven Bungay to be the first major defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, and a crucial turning point in the conflict. The Battle of Britain takes its name from a speech by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June: "What General Weygand has called The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin." Category:Battle of Britain Battle of Britain Battle of Britain Category:Conflicts in 1940 Category:World War II aerial operations and battles of the Western European Theatre Battle of Britain Battle of Britain Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving Germany Category:Battles and operations of World War II involving the United Kingdom Category:Battles of World War II involving Italy Category:Battles of World War II involving Canada Battle of Britain Category:World War II operations and battles of the Western European Theatre